Commanding defence leads the way in JT Cup win over Stoneds

Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture, renowned for its beautiful scenery, lush vegetation
and crisp clean air, was the venue for the Celts grudge match against their much loved
opponents; the Stoneds. By the banks of their own lovely Arakawa, where they
sport and play, the Japanese team lay in wait for the Celts, hoping to
emerge with three points from this JT Cup fixture.

Unfortunately for them, the Celts defence were not in a generous mood and
despite playing with a very strong wind in the first half, the Stoneds
made little leeway against resolute defending by Mullane, Stormin' O'Gorman,
Glynn, and Phelan. Indeed, so effective was the defence in frustrating the
Japanese that it was noted that the voice of the Stoneds number 5
increased twofold in pitch with his cries of anguish resonating around all
of Saitama.
As the first half drew to a close, the Celts forayed more and more upfield
and were rewarded when a clever ball from Dolan found Dermody in space to
his left and the man from Kilkenny finished well from a tight angle.
The second half, as with the first, was a tight affair but the Stoneds efforts were
all coming to nothing. Barry was commanding in goals and the four in front
of him were not letting in many shots. Midfield, particularly Cumiskey,
were energetically assisting the snuffing out of any threat.
Ten minutes into the second half, the wind cruelly carried a defensive
header from the Stoneds into the back of their net. 2-0 to the Celts.
The Celts attempts at going forward were greatly impeded by the nice linesman
from the Stoneds. His cue to raise the flag came from any pass which emananted
from the Celts midfield. With twenty minutes to go, he miraculously forgot
to raise the flag when Dermody played the ball into the path of O'Keeffe,
who was so shocked that he actually scored. 3-0 to the Celts.
Ten minutes to go, into the limelight stepped Mick Mehigan.
Controlling the ball in the centre circle, he spotted the Stoneds keeper
off his line and let rip with a tremendous shot which evaded the
Japanese keeper. Contender for Goal of the Season.
Minutes later, a well weighted pass from Persson found Mehigan who
made no mistake with the finish. 5-0 to the Celts.
The Stoneds never looked like scoring and overall this was an excellent
team performance. All substitutes played well when they came on
and with other players absent on Saturday, it would seem that
competition for places is going to be very intense come
December 5.